- Sep 30, 2013
- 12
- 0
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I'm new to raising backyard chickens. My three girls just turned one year old and are fat, healthy and spoiled. I built a very sturdy coop and am very careful to lock them up each night. I live in Burlington, Vermont near some woods and a river. I have a fenced in backyard that the girls were allowed to free range in during the day. I have house cats but after an early scuffle, they have never bothered the girls again.
Last night all was well with Ginny, Judy and Midge. I went out for a jog at 7pm and returned home with the girls dinner treats to find Judy and Ginny (the oldest and biggest girls) looking frightened close to my back porch. Down below them was a dazed Midge with her face eaten off. She was still alive but missing her beak. She also had a side bite. There was a large batch of feathers nearby. Her claws were bloody. She fought back.
As the smallest, my guess is that some sort of predator got in the yard and went after her. The two other girls must have squawked to high hell. And Midge probably tried to peck the creature and he ate her beak off her face. She looked so strange and sad without her beak.
I rushed her to the emergency vet. They aren't chicken specialists but they said without a beak, she would have trouble feeding herself. Midge was panting which looked so sad with no beak. She looked miserable and in shock. They recommended putting her down and I agreed. They found half of her beak under her wing wound. Or it could be an animal or dog nail, hard to tell.
Of course now I wonder if I did the right thing. My other chickens are acting normal. As it happens, Ginny was broody so I was trying to break her in a separate cage. Now I'm worried that Judy is alone in the coop and missing Midge. They were BFFs. Ginny was the alpha chicken and always bullying poor Midgey. She's been upset and ornery ever since she started brooding.
I'll leave them locked inside their run for a week and try to fortify the fence. Then they will only be allowed out supervised. I'm worried about the housecats too now. Any idea what animal would do this?
Midge was such a sweet chicken. She was a replacement for Midge 1 who turned out to be a Mickey. She was a few months younger than the other two and was never quite as big. She loved taking dirt baths with Judy and digging in the yard for treats. She sounded like a tauntaun from Empire Strikes Back, she loved sharing my hammock with me and she went crazy for the greens that she got every morning and night. Sometimes she'd stare into my eyes and it seemed like she was telling me a secret. I will miss her so much. She gave me many tasty eggs and will never be forgotten.
Rip sweet Midge. And thanks to the emergency vet people who were so nice and didn't make me feel bad for crying over a chicken.
Last night all was well with Ginny, Judy and Midge. I went out for a jog at 7pm and returned home with the girls dinner treats to find Judy and Ginny (the oldest and biggest girls) looking frightened close to my back porch. Down below them was a dazed Midge with her face eaten off. She was still alive but missing her beak. She also had a side bite. There was a large batch of feathers nearby. Her claws were bloody. She fought back.
As the smallest, my guess is that some sort of predator got in the yard and went after her. The two other girls must have squawked to high hell. And Midge probably tried to peck the creature and he ate her beak off her face. She looked so strange and sad without her beak.
I rushed her to the emergency vet. They aren't chicken specialists but they said without a beak, she would have trouble feeding herself. Midge was panting which looked so sad with no beak. She looked miserable and in shock. They recommended putting her down and I agreed. They found half of her beak under her wing wound. Or it could be an animal or dog nail, hard to tell.
Of course now I wonder if I did the right thing. My other chickens are acting normal. As it happens, Ginny was broody so I was trying to break her in a separate cage. Now I'm worried that Judy is alone in the coop and missing Midge. They were BFFs. Ginny was the alpha chicken and always bullying poor Midgey. She's been upset and ornery ever since she started brooding.
I'll leave them locked inside their run for a week and try to fortify the fence. Then they will only be allowed out supervised. I'm worried about the housecats too now. Any idea what animal would do this?
Midge was such a sweet chicken. She was a replacement for Midge 1 who turned out to be a Mickey. She was a few months younger than the other two and was never quite as big. She loved taking dirt baths with Judy and digging in the yard for treats. She sounded like a tauntaun from Empire Strikes Back, she loved sharing my hammock with me and she went crazy for the greens that she got every morning and night. Sometimes she'd stare into my eyes and it seemed like she was telling me a secret. I will miss her so much. She gave me many tasty eggs and will never be forgotten.
Rip sweet Midge. And thanks to the emergency vet people who were so nice and didn't make me feel bad for crying over a chicken.
